To Undo it All

Chapter 2: Execution(Once Again)

'Y'know, when it made its second charge, Flowers and Lungs stopped it with a seal thingy before it hit us. Maybe it was just holding back on the first hit and it was gonna go all out on the second strike?'

'...Plausible.'

"ICHIGO!" Rukia screamed in worry as I faced the flaming chicken.

"A second strike won't make a difference." If I had my full power, at least.

"I don't care how confident you are, you'll never be able to stop it a second time!"

'We can stop it as many fucking times as we fucking want to, shortstack!'

"Enough already Ichigo, you've got to quit!" I didn't move. "Ichigo, please! You'll be torn to pieces!" Shiro scoffed.

'Like we'd need to worry about an injury like that.'

'Outside of our complete Bankai, yes we would. When he can use neither his Rasotengai nor his high-speed regeneration, it would prove fatal.' The chicken rushed forward, and I readied to block a strike I knew wasn't coming. The chicken stopped as a thick brown rope wrapped around its neck, and the end that was capped off by a spearhead sank into the ground almost a hundred feet below. I didn't need to look to know Ukitake and Kyoraku were on the ground, each holding an artifact in order to break the Sokyoku. I heard the Shinigami falling into chaos below, but instead watched as the flaming chicken glowed brightly before exploding. Old Man Zangetsu fed me memories again, and I turned around to jump onto the platform holding Rukia up. I unsheathed the fake Zangetsu and positioned it to stab into the platform. Rukia looked up at me.

"Ichigo, what are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm taking this stand down." Her eyes widened.

"That's crazy!" she screamed again. "Ichigo, you can't! You'll only end up killing us both!"

"Don't worry about it. Just shut up and watch." Please, at least shut up. I begged in my head as I stabbed the platform and shot some Reiryoku into it to blow it apart. It exploded, and I grabbed Rukia under my arm before she could fall. I rested the false blade on my shoulder as I began, not needing the Old Man's guidance for this bit.

"'Don't try to rescue me', you said. 'Just go home', you said. You know, sometimes you talk too much. Good thing I don't listen. Now this is the second-" 'Third.' "-time I've had to tell you this: I've come here to rescue you. Got it?" For a moment, the only sound was of the still falling splinters of the platform I had just broken.

"What a fool," the midget finally mumbled. "I'm not going to say thank you."

"I didn't expect you to." I don't need you to. I could faintly hear some of the Shinigami freaking out down below about the indestructible stand being destroyed.

'By this point, I think the Central 46 or whoever the fuck made this shit exaggerated it so no one would try to fight back.'

'Hollow, is something ailing you? You're displaying intelligence you haven't shown before today.'

'Fuck off, you sack 'o shit! I'm smart!' Not knowing what to do until Renji got here, I settled for death glaring Byakuya. Even though he got better over the years, he still had a stick up his ass that wasn't supposed to fit.

"Ichigo," Oh yeah, Rukia and I talked until Renji came. I looked down to meet her eyes, and I briefly wondered why she wasn't losing her shit over being carried like a puppy. "What are we supposed to do now? How can we possibly disappear with so many eyes watching us?"

Did-did she think I had a plan? I was now wondering why Rukia would ever think I came with a plan, especially when I first became a Shinigami. My first tactic for slaying a Gillian was to 'hit it 'til it died'.